The present invention relates generally to creating and managing wireless networks.
An access point is a device that acts as a central point between a wireless and a wired network. A “virtual” access point is a logical entity that exists within a physical access point. When a single physical access point supports multiple virtual access points, each virtual access point appears to mobile stations (STAs or clients) to be an independent physical access point. Each multiple virtual access point that exists within a single physical access point may advertise a distinct unique identifier (a Service Set Identifier, or SSID) and capability set. Alternatively, multiple virtual access points can advertise the same SSID each with a different capability set, which allows access to the network to be provided via diverse security schemes. Through virtual access points, a single provider may offer multiple services, as well as enabling multiple providers to share the same physical infrastructure. Support for virtual access points is particularly useful when a Wi-Fi infrastructure needs to be shared between public and private users, or to allow a number of wireless ISPs (WISPs) to share a common broadband and Wi-Fi infrastructure at a given set of locations to lower capital and operational expenses while leveraging the available broadband connection.
Wireless technology standards, such as IEEE 802.11, only allow a mobile client to associate with a single access point and a single SSID. Thus, to support multiple SSIDs within a distinct access point, it has been suggested that the access point use multiple BSSIDs, where a BSSID is a so-called basic service set identifier (BSSID). A BSSID is an identity used to identify a particular BSS (Basic Service Set) within an area. Typically, the SSID is the MAC (Medium Access Control) address of the access point. In this approach, the AP uses multiple BSSIDs, but each beacon or probe response contains only a single SSID. The AP sends beacons for each virtual access point (VAP) that it supports at a standard beacon interval, using a unique BSSID for each VAP. The access point then responds to probe requests for supported BSSIDs with a probe response, which may include the capabilities corresponding to each BSS. Further details of this approach are provided in the article titled “Virtual Access Points,” by Bernard Aboba, Submission to IEEE P802.11, March 2003.
Thus, although it is known in the art to describe an access point device that can support multiple distinct SSID values over a single radio with unique MAC addresses per SSID (i.e., BSSID), there remains a need in the art to show how such devices may be used to provide independently configurable and flexible quality-of-service for a variety of client devices.
The present invention addresses this need.